Subject:
Cyclone Larry, Newspoll
E&OE...
MACKENZIE:
John Howard, good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning John.
MACKENZIE:
Thanks for catching up again. By gee, what a different circumstance today than 12 months ago.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well a different circumstance. It's a cause for congratulations to the people of Innisfail, the people of Far North Queensland for the remarkable spirit that they have displayed. I remember visiting Innisfail within a few days of the cyclone having hit and I will never forget the level of devastation and destruction. But even then, the defiant, optimistic attitude of people and as a result of a hugely cooperative local effort, the comeback in the space of a year has been quiet remarkable. And everybody involved, particularly the locals, Peter Cosgrove who's done a fantastic job on the ground, they deserve our congratulations.
MACKENZIE:
Actually I just want to hark back to that decision for a moment. Now I know you collaborated with Premier Peter Beattie on that decision which has proved to have been a masterstroke. Just hark back to that decision for a moment.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think it was, we certainly did discuss it and the Premier suggested his name to me and Peter Cosgrove spoke to me and we all agreed it was a fantastic idea. And can I say, this is an issue on which the Labor Premier of Queensland and the Liberal Prime Minister of Australia cooperated to the full. At no stage was there any buck-passing or point scoring. The Federal Government, as you know, has contributed over $250 million in different ways to the reconstruction effort.
MACKENZIE:
John Howard, the comparisons with Cyclone Tracey were inevitable but the recovery of Cyclone Tracey obviously a lot slower than what has been achieved here; admittedly different levels of damage. But obviously we've learned a hell of a lot in all of those years because this has been, really, it's been completed much more quickly and more effectively I think, even though it's not over yet. But the progress has been amazing.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Cyclone Tracey was 30 years ago. I think the impact on the town, or the city was greater. Of course there were what, 50 deaths tragically in Cyclone Tracey and when you have that kind of death toll, it always grips the consciousness and people remember it in a more sombre way than if one is able to avoid that sort of death toll, which was certainly the case in Innisfail. And you do learn things. I think one of the things we should give ourselves as Australians a pat on the back about is that in disaster relief operations, Australians can work together. I can't help contrast Innisfail with Katrina; now mind you a much smaller thing. But the fact that the federal, state and local agencies in Far North Queensland were able to work together in a seamless fashion and in a cooperative way says a lot about the kind of country we have and we often don't give ourselves enough compliments in relation to these things. And as I say, it's the spirit of the people on the ground that really made the biggest contribution of all.
MACKENZIE:
Well I have heard again and again from people in Innisfail that they have been particularly impressed with the way you arrived on the scene very quickly. You came on this program almost immediately after landfall last year and you committed to visit the town, which you did almost immediately again and also came back to look at the recovery work too. So I think a lot of people are particularly appreciative of what was done by you and your Government in Canberra. Can I just move on though to what is probably a bit of bad news for you, the Newspoll figures today, certainly bad news, look the question in The Australian today may be a legitimate one, does the wiry old master have another rabbit to pull out of the hat?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look any question is legitimate. John we are behind in the polls, the Australian public is obviously telling me something, and telling the Government something and I'm listening and analysing. We still have a good story to tell, this country is prosperous, our wages are much higher, we've got a 32-year low in unemployment, there is a whole lot of good news stories and there is a lot more in the future. And in the end when the election comes around, the Australian people will have to decide which side of politics is better able to maintain that prosperity and the security and sense of fairness in the Australian community. But if you're asking me whether the polls are saying something, of course they are.
MACKENZIE:
But do you know what they are saying?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I think they're saying a number of things. I think one of the things that the Labor Party has managed to do is to create the impression that there's really no difference between its economic policies and ours, but it won't really matter much if there's a change of government - well that is not the case and take small business for example, if Labor wins a lot of small business in Far North Queensland, particularly in recreation, they'll have to cope with the nightmare of unfair dismissal laws again and that's just but one example of the sort of things that would change if there were a Labor government.
MACKENZIE:
Can I just ask you how confident you are about that turnaround in the mindset of the Australian voters in next seven or eight months?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't take anything for granted. I have been saying for 18 months that the Coalition would have a big fight to win the next election and for a long time people didn't believe me, well I think they should now, I think we will have a fight, we are behind, we are the underdogs - there's no doubt about that - and we'll have a fight on our hands. But you can win a fight if you've got good weapons and the weapons we have is an eleven-year track record of delivering prosperity and a commitment to deliver policies that will keep that prosperity. Normally governments get thrown out when people believe that they have become incompetent, no longer managing the affairs of the country properly. I don't believe people feel that way, it doesn't mean to say they're not interested in a new opposition leader, that they're not discontented about this, that or the other, but it is some months before the election takes place.
MACKENZIE:
Just finally to (inaudible) political commentator in Queensland, yesterday said on this program the Queensland....the Liberal Party in Queensland has been the worst performed in this country for many years, he thought you probably....wished you'd intervened some years ago given this embarrassing Santo Santoro incident?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well John the Liberal Party federally has not been the worst performing, in fact Queensland was our best state, two party preferred vote wise, in the last election in 2004 and in the election of 1996, which brought us to power. At a state level the Liberal Party has done very poorly in Queensland, that's true, but federally the Liberal Party has done very well in Queensland. So I think we have to be careful that we separate the two. There is always in the Queensland psyche, a disconnect between state and federal politics. There used to be a time when the National Party and the Liberal Party as the junior partner dominated Queensland state politics and Labor was an irrelevant rump. Now the reverse is true at a state level but federally, in the last few elections, the Liberal Party has done very well in Queensland. Now we can't assume that's going to happen next time, you can't assume anything, but I think we have to separate the state from the federal because it seems in Queensland that when people vote they vote for the federal Liberal brand, they don't vote for the state one.
MACKENZIE:
By the way Prime Minister did you find out what caused the smoke in the cabin of the Hercules?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, I haven't been told yet, they're having an investigation. My suspicion is that it was electrical fault.
MACKENZIE:
And I just want to thank you once again for your accessibility over the past 12 months and to look forward to your visits in north Queensland in the near future.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you very much John.
[ends]